Our second week of class was highlighted by readings/talks on Language (its system, functionality, understanding, misinterpretations, etc.). I really liked the 'Ghoti' activity - where this foreign word was put up on the screen and actually pronounced as 'fish'. Here we saw how a given slice of sound to name a given idea is completely arbitrary. I believe it was De Saussure who wrote that 'language is a system of interdependent terms in which the value of each term results solely from the simultaneous presence of others' (7). I liked that quote when dissecting Langue and Paroles true definitions/meaning. Another idea that I liked during class this week came after Barthe's notion of a 'playfulness in the text' where Professor Cummings stated that "its not the text we study, it's the 'gap', the 'rupture'. It was interesting (and new) to see how more often than not, Barthes would opt for a perverse look at texts; turning the texts inside out and filling in the gaps - in this difference he says 'is where we get pleasure'. It's an interactive approach too because by doing this the reader can understand that the text is not a unified whole and to fully grasp it's meaning you must bring something to it. Looking deeper, it was nice to be able to connect Macherey's notion of a rupture with Barthe's 'gap', that certainly helped keep things from being misunderstood.
The second half of this post is dedicated towards instructing the class on how to insert images (or videos) onto individual posts (at the request of Prof. Cummings). It's very easy and doesn't take long at all so if you're reading this you might as well pay attention quickly. First you find your image (probably from Google Images like everyone else's) then you have the personal choice of saving your image to your desktop or copying it's URL. When you've got your image ready to go you find the tool bar at the top of this window and to the right of the "LINK" button is a button that looks like a small picture of mountains and trees or something. That is the 'Insert Picture' button and next to it is the 'Insert Video' button. Click whichever one applies and then add the picture, choose it's size/alignment...once you're ready you can preview the picture and then click OK.
"on my honor I have not given, nor received, nor witnessed any unauthorized assistance on this work"
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